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They must be eleven no later than August 31st, and they will get the letter the summer they are eleven.

Because the school needs to make arrangments in advance, and because the parents will need to be able to purchase supplies, the students who turn 11 in like, August, will get their letters in June or July, while they are still ten

If you're thinking of Hermione-like birthdays (September 16th, I believe it is? let me know if I'm wrong here) which are after September 1st, then yes, they will almost be 12 by the time they start Hogwarts. They are eleven though. I think they get their letters sometime in the beginning of the summer before they're due to start Hogwarts.

However, if your birthday is a Harry-like birthday or a Ron-like birthday, they'll be eleven when they start, and will get their letters accordingly.

Yeah, Hermione's birthday is on the 19th of September, so she's almost 12 years old when she starts her first year. HOWEVER, she's still eleven on that first day (if she was twelve, then she'd be in the year before Harry and Ron).

Kids would receive their letters the summer before their first year, naturally, so the letter would arrive when they're still technically ten years old (like Harry's did; he started receiving letters *before* his birthday, and he still would have been ten at the time), and like CM mentioned, if the birthday is a late July or August birthday, they'd receive the letter at ten (though they would have to be turning eleven by the time they start school).

Hermione, however, would be receiving her letter when she's already eleven and is just about a couple months away from being twelve. Ron, too, would already be eleven, as he would have turned eleven in March of 1991, while not receiving the letter until that summer -- around July or so.

Harry's was just coincidental. He'd have gotten the letter if the Dursleys hadn't interfered, and he was delivered the letter by hand *because* they were interfering (presumably because Dumbledore was keeping an eye on him).